A New Life, her Old Life
by Circa91
Summary: 17 years after the events of Breaking Dawn, the kids of the reservation start to turn. Leah is ripped out of her new life away from the supernatural to come help mentor the new wolves when it turns out the new generation are all like her. Jacob's son is coming to help protect the new pack from whatever is causing them to turn. What will happen when Leah and him meet?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Twilight fan-fic

From behind the bar, I watched as the last few patrons staggered drunkenly through the door of the wood panelled pub.

Finally able to grab those last few glasses, I exulted that my shift was almost over. I'd been working here for a while now but, while I quite enjoyed the work, when customers loitered for over an hour after they'd ordered their last drink, I got antsy.

I made sure I had locked up, before washing the glasses by hand; I could go collapse on my bed upstairs as soon as I finished down here, and it was quicker washing them myself than waiting for the 20 minute cycle of the machine.

After drying and placing them on their respective shelves, I turned off the lights and trudged up to my apartment. The place was pretty small; just a bedroom, living room, a small kitchen and a bathroom; but it was free, so long as I paid the bills, which made it more than enough for me.

I decided to take a shower, letting the warm water helped to wash away my earlier irritation.

After shrugging into a t-shirt and shorts, I collapsed onto the sofa to see if there was anything to watch on the TV. After 10 rather fruitless minutes, I settled on a rerun of the British show Top Gear. I had never really been interested in cars when I was younger, but an old friend's enthusiasm for them had infected me. After half an hour of laughing at Jeremy Clarkson's constant ragging of Richard Hammond, I heard a buzzing emanating from the pile of clothes I had, unceremoniously, dumped in the corner of the room.

Crossing over to pile, I extracted my phone from the back pocket of my jeans; I read the name displayed on the screen before answering.

"Oh, my most high Alpha. To what do I owe the pleasure?" I settled into our familiar faux-antagonistic speech pattern.

"Hey Leah." Jacob Black replied. I could hear the smile he must have been wearing on his face, in his voice. "Long time no speak, how've you been?"

It really had been a long time, almost 5 years to be exact.

"I'm alright, how are Renesmee and the Leech Brigade?"

"The whole Cullen family are fine, myself included, thanks." Jake's voice was filled with barely concealed mirth.

"Jake," I said, turning serious, "I know you didn't call to catch up. Tell me what's wrong."

The other end of the line was silent for a moment before Jake spoke.

"Sam just got in contact with me. He said there's a problem down at La Push."

Sam's name brought bad memories to my mind, memories of 17 years ago; from before I left Sam's pack and could finally get away from the pity in his mind.

"What does he want?" I asked through gritted teeth. Jacob knew better than to bring up Sam's name to me, so the problem must be serious for him to do so.

"It seems like vampires have started crossing Quileute lands again..." his voice trailed off as I realised the implications of his words.

"They've started turning again... I know that isn't great but what does it have to do with me?" I asked.

"Yeah that's the thing. You haven't kept up with the news from the res have you?" Jacob skilfully avoided my question by asking one of his own.

"No I haven't. Now answer my question."

"Well," Jacob began, "it seems like no boys have been born into the stronger bloodlines; the first ones to react to the vamps' presence in area."

It took me a moment to work through the implication of what Jake had said.

"So the girls are starting to turn..." my voice trailed off.

"Yeah..." Jake started slowly, "I know you have been trying to distance yourself from all the wolf stuff but this, really, isn't easy on the girls involved."

I knew how they felt. When I had first started to turn, I'd been scared of what was happening to me. As if ripping through my clothes by morphing into a giant grey wolf wasn't already enough, suddenly every thought I had, no matter how personal or private, was suddenly conveyed down the link. A secret was impossible to keep to yourself; the more you didn't want anyone to hear it, the more you thought about it.

"I really feel for them, but what would you like me to do about it?" I asked.

"See, that's the thing. I was hoping that someone who had already gone through all this, as a girl, might be able to make this easier for them. I know you don't really want to go back but it could really help them deal with all this."

The call was silent for a long time as I processed what he had said. He wanted me to go back home, to immerse myself back into that world, a world I had fought so hard leave behind me... and I already knew that I wouldn't refuse.

"Okay..." I started haltingly, "let's say I agree... how is my being there going to help anyone? They will still be stuck with male minds despite my being there."

"I came up with a plan for that. At the moment, my pack consists of you, your brother, Quil and Embry. Sam has already agreed to take the other guys from my pack into his. If we then get the girls to join mine with you, and I avoid turning as much as possible, it will be like a pack for the girls. That way they won't have to worry about being linked to the guys."

I had to grudgingly admit the good points of his plan.

"But what about you?" I asked. "If you keep popping up, there's no point in separating the girls out."

"I've already thought about that. If I have to turn for some reason, I'll call you to give you some warning. That way you can, at best get the girls to turn back, at worst they will at least be prepared for my intrusion."

With that it had been decided. After talking a little longer, sorting out the necessary arrangements for how the new pack should be set up, I started to tell him goodbye.

"Leah, wait. Before I forget to tell you, my son is going to be going to Forks too to act as a guard for your pack."

I fought hard to keep the surprise from my tone.

"But isn't –" I struggled to remember the son's name, till I remembered that he was named after Jake's father, "– Billy only 7 years old?"

Jake laughed ruefully. "With Nessie's accelerated growth-rate and his Quileute heritage, from my side, reacting to the Cullens being around him? What chance did he really have at a normal childhood? He was fully grown by the time he hit 5."

Curious now, I asked, "So what is he like... supernaturally I mean?"

A hint of paternal pride crept into Jake's voice as he talked about his son.

"In his human form he's stronger than I am and his senses are better than mine. In our wolf forms he is weaker than I am, but not by much. He can't join a pack though, not in the traditional mixing of minds way; he can get around the restriction however. He is able to talk with other wolves in the same way me and Sam speak, like a mental conversation. The cool thing is he's able to do it regardless of which form he is in."

"But what about his diet?" Everything else about him seemed alright but this was the sticking point.

"Admittedly he drinks blood but for some reason finds human blood repulsive. He also enjoys human food and the meat from a kill. Is that a deal-breaker?" Jacob asked, worry in his tone.

I thought about it for a moment but didn't find anything to object to and told him so.

"Well I better get going. I've got a lot to pack and a very long way to run. Bye."

With that I clicked off the call.

An hour later I was stripping in the woods. I'd called my boss and told him that I had to go back home for family reasons... not _strictly_ a lie, and he told me he understood. It took me 10 minutes to gather my clothes into a giant holdall; the strap would be long enough for me to have it over my neck while I was in wolf form, and the rest of the time to jog to the treeline on the other side of town.

After placing the clothes into my bag, I started my transformation. I felt the heat flood my body for the first time in years, then felt my body expand to size I had as a wolf. Slipping my neck through the bag's strap, I stood and turned. I could instinctively feel the right direction to run to get home; there was an elusive pull while in this form that I had never been able to explain.

Giving in to that feeling for the first time in years, I sprung into a mile-eating lope. As I felt my claws dig into the soft ground beneath paws, I wondered what I had gotten myself in to.

Resigning myself to whatever fate was going to bring me; I let out a long howl. A howl of exasperation at having to re-enter a world I had chosen to leave behind. A howl to challenge fate to mess with my life in any other ways.

A howl to mourn the life that I already knew, deep in my heart, I would never be able to return to.

* * *

A/N - So yeah. What did you think. I recently started to listen to the Twilight audio-books again (in an effort to help me write from a female's perspective for my other book) and the idea for this fic just popped, fully formed, into my head. I've not read the other fan fics for Twilight, so I don't even know if this is an original concept, but it wouldn't get out of my head until I wrote it down.

After I had written it I figured I might as well post it and see what people thought to the concept. If it is liked I may take it up in the future, either alongside or after I finish my Beelzebub fic.

After the books ended I always wanted to know more about Leah and where she went from there. This would eventually be a LeahxBilly love story with a lot of teenage bitches (as in female wolves) :P. And probably a big ol' fight at the end.

So yeah, if you liked it review it and let me know. If you didn't like it... please review it as well and let me know. That way I will know if I should bother thinking about how to develop the plot whenever I get round to it.

Edit - Since I've decided to write this alongside my other story, I went back and cleaned up some of the grammar in it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When I was only 50, or so, miles away from La Push I heard my little brother enter my mind.

"Jeez Leah, how fast are you running right now?"

"Seth! What are you doing? You're supposed to be in Sam's pack, why am I hearing you in my head?" I acted angry, but I secretly happy to be able to chat with my brother. Having grown unfamiliar with the pack mind-link in my time away, I was late in remembering that nothing was secret when you thought it as a wolf.

"I knew you'd missed me." A smug edge coloured his thoughts, an edge that always succeeded in riling me up.

I responded with a wordless growl through the link and, to my satisfaction, I felt him inwardly shudder at the thought.

I figured I should let him off the hook already. "Yeah I missed you. It's been too long!" I sounded a whine through the link to accent my words.

He returned my whine before replying. "Yeah, I think it was Jake and Nessie's wedding? That was 8 years ago! You need to come and visit every now and then."

"I was going to," I admitted, "but things just kept getting in the way. I'd have come back eventually, given enough time."

Seth laughed at the joke hidden in my words. "I guess time is 1 thing we both have lots of. So anyway," he changed the subject, "how's the run been?"

"Long, but it was fun to test my limits again." To save the time it would take to explain my journey, I flashed him a highlight reel of what had happened. I'd followed the I-90 almost the entire way from my apartment in Sturgis, South Dakota to where I was now... admitted I did take a quick break at Yellowstone to have some fun.

Seth started laughing again. "I can't believe you'd do that to the wolves they introduced there! I wonder what they were thinking when they saw you."

As I ran through the National Park, I'd caught the fresh scent of wolves and decided to follow it. The sight of the wolves, after they'd noticed my presence, still made me laugh; I had watched as they look in my immense size and had scarpered with their tails between their legs.

"It's good to see you haven't changed." Seth commented sardonically at the amusement in my thoughts. As he said this he suddenly appeared at my side and tackled me. Seth was bigger than the last time I had seen him in wolf form, having grown into the size his paws had promised.

We fought, playfully, for a time; just a mass of flailing legs and gnashing teeth, but eventually the winner was decided. Seth had used his superior weight to pin me to the ground and, despite my squirming, he had placed his open jaws around my neck from the top. A kill-shot.

Irritated at the loss, I bolted back into the forest to continue my journey. I felt a wry satisfaction when I heard Seth's words in my head, with the accompanying whine coming from far behind.

"Wait up Leah! You know that none of us have your speed, and with a head start there is no way I can catch up."

Grinning mentally at his concession of my title of the fastest wolf, I slowed and allowed him to run at my right flank in the tradition position of a wolf's second.

"So, little brother, what is the pack dynamic like these days?" I wanted to know, as completely as I could, what I was walking in to.

"Well –" Seth began, "– before everything started happening it was only really me, Embry and Collin still running patrols. Sam ordered all the kids who'd turned prior to the Volturi visit, to just go on with their lives. Some wanted to stay in the pack, worried that they were going to be missing out on something; but after 2 months of running the same routes every night, and still expected to go to school in the morning, they had all gone back to their lives. They were all from weaker bloodlines so it wasn't too hard for them to stop the phasing. Most of them have gone their separate ways now."

"So even Sam had stopped phasing?" It didn't really seem like Sam, to stand aside while others did the work.

"Yeah, all the imprinted wolves did. None of them really wanted to stay young as they watched their true loves get older. They also figured it was going to be hard to keep our secret from their children if they didn't start ageing again... they all had daughters so we figured it would have to be kept from them forever. We never expected..." His mental voice trailed off as he thought about recent events.

"... that the girls would turn out like me." I finished his sentence for him. "So what's going on now? Has Sam started phasing again?"

"He had to. Collin and I were out on patrol when we felt Emery's fear through the bond. We had all hoped that her growth spurt was natural, we hoped you would be the only one this had to happen to you; but it wasn't to be. Collin phased back to call Sam and let him know what had happened; I stayed in wolf form to try and calm her down. Sam phased for the first time in over a decade so that he could explain everything to her."

The sad tone of Seth's thoughts mirrored the pain Sam must have felt at his decision; he would halt in his aging again, but time would march on for Emily pulling her ever closer to the moment she would leave Sam behind.

We were just entering La Push, so we agreed he should let Sam tell me the rest of the story. I phased back to my human form in a copse of trees near Sam's house, and pulled a set of clothes from the bag that had been around my neck for the entire run. A seam had partially burst from our little play fight earlier; I decided that, as the gracious winner, Seth was going to replace it.

So it was with a wolfish grin that I walked up to the Uley's door and knocked loudly. Sam answered the door, and I was so shocked at the changes in him that I forgot to greet him.

"Leah," Sam said in the deep voice I had loved so much, "glad you could come." With a smile he added. "You haven't changed a bit."

The same could not be said for him.

He was still as physically imposing as he had been, years ago, but the unfrozen years had taken their toll. He now looked in his mid to late 30s; wrinkles had formed at the corner of his eyes and his hair was well on its way to giving him a widow's peak.

With relief, I realised that I was no longer in love with the man in front of me. I would always have feeling for Sam, but the bone-deep longing had disappeared at some point in the 17 years since I had escaped from inside his head.

For possibly the first time in the 2 decades since he had dumped me, I smiled a genuine smile and spoke to him without pain colouring my words.

"Hey Sam, I'm happy to help in any way I can. Now tell me what happened."

Sam took a deep breath and began.

* * *

A/N - So what do you think? I decided I would start writing this alongside my other story as and when the mood takes me. I doubt it will come out as regularly as my other fic but with people liking it I feel I should develop the story before I lose it.

I would like to thank Inosolon for providing me with the name Emery for Sam's daughter... I'm sorry but I refuse to use Mildred!

To Inosolon - Thank you for being the first to review the first chapter and here is the more you asked for.

To WEML101 - I'm sorry but it's going to be a few chapters till you meet him. I'll admit I was planning on introducing him almost immediately but I think I'd rather wait for her to get settled then pull the rug out from under her as he arrives.

To my unspecified Guest (whoever you may be) - I'm glad you would like to read more... if you didn't what would be the point in writing it :P

To Brankel1 - I don't think I've ever had such a good review in so few words since I was at school. If it had been written in red pen the illusion would have been complete.

A special thank you to all those who have followed and/or favourited the story so far.

Keep the reviews coming. Good or bad I would like to know, it will help with the writing.

See ya next time. Circa out.

PS - I don't have an image for the story. If anyone is interested in making/drawing me one, I would love to use it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Okay, where to start... how much has Seth told you already?" Sam began.

"Not much," I admitted, "we mostly talked about the state the packs are in."

I could see the gears turn in his head, as Sam decided where to begin.

"As Seth no doubt told you, it is only him, Embry and Collin that are still running patrols these days. Quil does when he is here, but he moved in with Claire when she went to college so he is away most of the time."

"About a month ago, we found a fresh vampire trail. We tried to follow it, but in both directions it went into the sea." Seth butted in.

"Yes, they consulted me about what they should do, but I figured a single trail wasn't too much to worry about. The problem is, the next night they found another fresh trail." Sam continued in his deep bass. "While in a completely different location, it followed the same pattern as the first. Coming out of the ocean, and looping around for a time; before re-entering the water."

"Except this one was a little deeper into our territory." It would have annoyed me, if Seth had kept interrupting me to add points that I was obviously getting to but Sam didn't seem to mind.

"Every night since then the pattern has continued, there would be a fresh blood-drinker trail and without fail it would come several yards further in." Sam took a deep lungful of air, and released it slowly before continuing. "I didn't even notice as my daughter started to change. The precursors for a girl's transformation are much less noticeable than those for us males, as you can surely remember."

I did remember, I could vividly recall the differences between my transformation and Seth's.

Seth, like all the other guys, had grown to over 6 feet in a matter of weeks. With no effort to do so, he had also bulked up. He didn't reach the massive proportions that Sam and Jacob had, though I grudgingly admitted he was pretty damned close now, but it was obvious to anybody that he had changed; the accompanying anger management problems made it _very_ easy to tell a wolf was about to phase for the first time.

My transformation was much more subtle. Like Seth I had grown, but it was only from my original 5"8' to a whopping 5"10'. Also, where the boys had bulked up, I had... toned up. The musculature of the guys was that of an MMA fighter, whereas I was more like a pentathlon athlete. Even the fits of rage manifested more as bitchiness than real anger.

All in all, I'm not surprised he missed it.

Sam seemed to be looking for an answer so I nodded; I indicated for him to continue.

"The first we knew of it was when Emery's voice was suddenly in the bond."

"She was terrified." Seth continued for Sam, giving his first-hand account of what had happened. "Me and Embry were the only ones on patrol that night and, in truth, her intrusion scared us. Neither of us had really thought about the effect the vampire's intrusion would have on the teens here. Not being able to get any halfway intelligible response through the bond, we decided to split up. Embry would phase back and call Sam, while I went to go find this new nameless wolf and try and calm them down enough to work out who it was."

Sam picked up the story once again. "When I got the call it only took a second to put the pieces together. I ran through the teenage guys on the reservation, trying to work out if any seemed to have started changing recently –"

Sam had got his teaching certificate when he'd decided to start ageing again; it meant that he could keep an expert eye on the kids at the school to look for the signals that one was undergoing the change; some way to continue helping his pack when he no longer wanted to keep running with them.

"– but none of them fit the bill. When I realised what the only other option was, my heart fell. I rushed through to Emery's room, hoping I was wrong, but she wasn't there. I realised then, that her blood must have been too strong to let her resist the change. Much like yours, Leah."

He was silent for 10 seconds; then I prompted him. "Seth said you decided to phase... after you had spent so long not, why did you do it?"

"I couldn't leave her alone with this." The pain in his simple statement tore at my heart. "I wanted to grow old with my wife, but I couldn't leave our daughter to try and work through all this without me. I told Emily what had happened, and what I planned to do. She agreed with my decision and so I left and shifted. As soon as I felt her thoughts in my head, I knew it was Emery."

"And the first thing he did was _order_ her to calm down!" Seth barked with a laugh.

I looked as Sam with recrimination in my eyes and Sam gave me a half smile back.

"I only meant to be stern, hoping it would get through to her, I'd forgotten what effect being Alpha would have on my words. To be honest I had only realised it was an order when I felt an instant calm from her side of the link."

"To cut a long story short," Seth chimed in, "Sam let her know what had happened to her and helped her to phase back. We hoped she would be the only one to change but we weren't so lucky."

"With continued blood-drinker incursions it was only days later that Paul and Rachel's daughter, Krissa, turned too." The levity from his earlier tone was gone. "And we think that Jared and Kim's daughter Sophie will be next."

The silence stretched on until I spoke up.

"What can I do to help?"

Sam answered me. "Jake told you the details of the plan, so far as we have planned at this point. We will get the 2 girls to transfer to Jake's pack with you. That way, they can get a small measure of privacy in their wolf forms. We hope you can teach them what they need to learn. Emery begrudges me for hiding this from her, so she won't listen to my instructions. I'm hoping that you won't have the same problems."

I sighed. "So do you want me to introduce myself now?"

Sam shook his head. "No Leah, you must already be exhausted, it can wait until tomorrow."

As he said it I finally took note of how bone-weary I was. "I guess I am a little tired." I acknowledged.

"Leah," Seth admonished, "you ran here from South Dakota in under 6 hours. If you add in the little detour you did in Yellowstone that was probably over 1400 miles. You must have averaged around 250 miles per hour; no one doubts your speed, but you aren't a machine. Let's go home and you can get some rest, the girls will be there in the morning."

10 minutes later, while I was upending the torn holdall onto my old bed, the phone rang in the hallway. Seth answered and had a conversation with the person on the other end of the line in hushed tones.

When I saw the forlorn look on my brother's face, I knew what he was about to say. We'd both heard the unfamiliar howl from the woods around La Push.

Seth forced a half-hearted smile as he said,

"Looks like Jake's pack is going to have 4 girls in it... Sophie just phased."

* * *

A/N - So a little quicker than I had planned :P

I wasn't really planning on writing this chapter yet, but I had some trouble sleeping so decided to storyboard it. Once it was storyboarded I figured I might as well write it so here it is.

I would like to say thank you to Bilba0691 for providing Krissa's name and Pysco-babydoll for Sophie's.

Now to the reviews:

To Inosolon - Thanks again for your timely and deeply analytic review. I like to believe that people are enjoying what I write; if it makes them think, even better.

To WEML101 - You are going to have to wait some more. I have storyboarded how he is going to be introduced, but a lot of stuff has to happen first.

To Liliana - I did :P sooner than even I expected :D

To Bilba0691 - Yeah, I decided early on that she would be mostly over him in this story. My other fic is full of pining girls and I wanted a stronger female character in this one.

Thanks again to my followers for deciding my story is worth following and please stick with it :)

Please review. Good & bad are both useful for me so don't hold back on my account.

Circa out.

PS - Still looking for an image to use :P


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I'd forgotten to close the curtains when I'd crashed on my bed, and the sun streaming through the uncovered window had woken me as soon as it reached my eyes. I pulled on a pair green, cotton shorts and a grey tank top, and then headed into the kitchen to the smell of frying bacon.

Seth was in the kitchen sporting a hilariously flowery apron and hovering over a pan. From the spluttering sounds emanating from it, I deduced that this was the source of the smell.

"Wow," I said, marvelling at the domestic scene before me, "you're up early this morning."

"Nah, I just haven't slept yet. I only got in from patrol about an hour ago. I figured you were going to need your strength today for the ordeal ahead, so I've fixed you up a wolf sized breakfast. There's pancakes and French toast on the table, bacon and eggs are on their way." He answered me with a sly grin.

I was so exhausted last night, that I'd forgot to force some food into my system before crashing out in my old room. I followed my nose into the dining room and the sight did not disappoint my growling stomach.

On the battered old table, there was a plate stacked high with beautifully golden pancakes, and a platter heaving with the promised French toast. As I sat down, I removed the top 5 pancakes and moved them over to the plate in front of me. After drowning them in maple syrup, I proceeded to demolish them.

5 minutes later Seth appeared, no longer wearing the apron, carrying 2 more plates in from the kitchen. He divested half of each plate onto his own then placed them at my end of the table. I inhaled the remaining contents of the plates, not wasting time by transferring them to my own, and sat back with a look of contentment on my face.

"I haven't eaten like that years." I complemented him, with a hand on my somehow non-distended belly. "When did you learn to cook like that?"

Seth laughed. "When you live alone someone has to, and the other guys from the pack come over a lot to sample my wares."

I picked at a few pieces of French toast as I waited for my brother to see off the rest of the food he had prepared for us.

I stood. "I can't put it off any longer, wish me luck." I said as I turned to leave.

As I closed the front door, I thought I heard a "good luck" from inside though I couldn't be sure; it was entirely smothered in a large yawn.

A few minutes later, the honeysuckle covered posts of the Uley porch came into view as I slowed my jog into a walk. Sam came out to greet me as I started to climb the steps that led into his home.

"Glad to see you showed up. The girls are inside, I'll introduce you." He turned and walked back into the house.

The scene inside gave me a strange sense of Deja-vu, it strongly resembled the times when our pack had gathered here so many years ago; the only difference was the reversal of genders from the memory in my head.

I used the few moments before the girls looked up from their breakfast to study them in turn. Much like me the girls hadn't taken the massive forms that their father's had when the wolf gene had awoken in them.

Emery Uley was obviously the eldest. I could tell who she was by the strong jaw, so reminiscent of her Sam's, and the lips she had obviously gotten from her mother. She was the heaviest set of the 3 and I could tell, without having to see her spirit wolf (as the council had called them so long ago), that she would be the biggest of the 3 when she phased.

The girl sat to her left must have been Sophie Cameron, having only phased for the first time last night, she hadn't learnt to shorten her hair to make her wolf form more comfortable. I made a mental note to bring it up with her after what we did today.

To Emery's right was Krissa Lahote; her features were so reminiscent of Jake's sister Rachel at that age that I had to do a double take. The only difference was the pixie cut her soft, black hair had been styled into. She was the smallest (and youngest, I remembered) of the girls though she was without a doubt the prettiest.

As I finished my observations, Emery looked up at me and the other girls followed her lead.

Before she could say anything, Sam decided to introduce us.

"Girls, this is Leah. Leah... this is Krissa, Emery and Sophie." He pointed to them as he provided their names, arm moving left to right, proving my earlier guesses correct. He went on. "Leah was the first she-wolf in our history and she has agreed to come help guide you through your transformations."

Emery piped up. "Dad, no offense intended, but what do we need her for?"

I chose to answer the question she had aimed at Sam. "Well we figured out a way for you to not have to have your father hear every one of your thoughts, when you are in wolf form." Krissa interrupted me.

"Is that even possible?" She asked excitedly. She obviously did not enjoy sharing the inside of her head with the mature wolves.

"I belong to a different pack than your father and the other guys on the res; so at least while you are learning control, we decided it would be easier for you to only have to link with the mind of other girls."

Sophie opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again without uttering a word.

I waited, grabbing a sausage bun for myself, as the girls polished off the rest of the food on the table then got ready to leave.

"Come on then, no time like the present." I called from over my shoulder, and I heard the chair legs scrape across the floor as the 3 stood to follow me.

"Don't follow, at least for today." I said to Sam as made to follow me. "I don't need any more distractions than they will already have." He heeded my words but embraced his daughter before letting her leave.

"Learn well from her," Sam whispered in her ear, just loud enough for my enhanced hearing to pick up, "she knows what she is doing... most of the time." He added the last bit with a smile then released her.

With a last look at the house, I turned and started jogging toward the woods bordering the clearing in which Sam and Emily's home lay. I heard the slight pattering of 3 pairs of feet behind me, as they matched my pace in the still morning air.

* * *

A/N - So here was my initial introduction to 3 of the 4 OCs I'll be having in my story. What are your first impressions?

I'll admit that the chapters of this are a little shorter than I would like to make them but that means I can churn out content at more regular intervals.

Not many people to thank this time around but here goes:

To Liliana - You are very welcome and I'm glad you are :)

To Inosolan - Thank you again for your reviews. The chapters are short but you make a point of always bringing something up that interested you :P

I'd like to say thanks again to my followers and I hope I'm not disappointing you all yet :P

As always, please review. Bad reviews will help me to write better next time while a good review makes me feel warm and fuzzy XD

That's about all this time. Circa out.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

We had arrived at the clearing I'd clocked on my arrival at Sam's house the night before. I'd turned to observe the girls who all stood with each other, not entirely sure what to make of me.

"The first thing I would like you to do is phase in front of me. I need to see what I have to work with. One at a time please."

Unsurprising, the first to step forward was Emery. As the first to turn, I could tell she considered herself the Alpha. In actual fact, through the bloodlines, of the 3 Krissa was most likely to take the position; though like Jacob had, I felt she would try to never press her claim.

As she undressed I looked at her with a critical eye, studying her muscle structure; she was definitely a power-type wolf. As she laid down the last of her clothing, I watched the waves of heat roll off her till she turned before my eyes. Her phasing was slow, as these things went, taking over a second before she stood before me in wolf form.

Her wolf body had deep, earthy brown fur, and her body type did not disappoint my earlier appraisal. I ran my hands over her legs and body, feeling the heavy muscles beneath her thick coat. Her musculature was heavier than even some of the male wolves had, in the old pack. With a swift nod, I turned to the youngest of the fresh wolves.

"Your turn Krissa." The girl swiftly removed her clothing and phased in front of me.

She was beautiful. Her fur was an unblemished snow white as she stood in the clearing. As I looked at her face I realised that her spirit wolf was in fact albino. Her eyes, reminiscent of the new-borns we had fought 18 years ago, shone a bright crimson. She was smaller than either Emery or I but, much like Seth, I was sure she would grow much larger as time went on. After a similar examination to Emery's, I turned to the final girl in the clearing.

She was already standing naked waiting for her turn to phase. I was impressed by her initiative and nodded to her to tell her to change.

Despite her frankly frumpy body as a human, her wolf self was lithe. Her body seemed built for manoeuvrability and, while she would not reach the sheer speeds of Emery would achieve on open ground, she would be better suited for running through the thick forests that surrounded the Quileute lands.

After I had finished the examinations of the 3 girls, I walked back to my original place and turned to face them.

"Very good, girls," I began, "now I will phase too and I want you to follow me." I quickly stripped and, leaving my clothes on the ground, walked out into the forest as a grey wolf.

As I walked, hearing the sound of the other's paws as they walked through the underbrush, I revelled in the last moments in which I would have my wolf brain to myself. To my surprise, the first wolf to understand the double meaning in my earlier statement was Sophie.

"Hey, Leah, what do you want us to do now?" She asked, the question being transmitted straight into my mind.

"I'm waiting for the other 2 to join minds with me so I would like you to not give anything away until you hear them both again." I said with a mental sigh.

"Oh yeah, I only just realised I couldn't hear them, that's so weird. Does that mean I've joined the mysterious other pack now? Why was I the first? How come –?" I cut off the girl's incessant question with a wordless growl inside my throat.

"I will answer all your questions, and any others you may ask, when your sisters have joined us. I do not like to repeat myself." Suddenly the differences between the wolf's demeanour, and her human counterpart's, seemed very jarring. "Why are you so talkative now? Earlier you failed to speak when I greeted you."

"Well... I wanted to say something earlier but my nerves got the best of me." The words she sent held a degree of embarrassment. "I have never felt quite right as a human, too ungainly, but when I'm a wolf I feel better... more in control. I guess it also doesn't hurt that there is no filter on mind-to-mind contact." I felt her amusement through the bond.

As they continued to walk suddenly Krissa's mind popped into the link. Wordless relief was communicated through the bond as Sophie welcomed her to the new pack, then all that was left was to wait for Emery.

From the start I had always expected Emery to have the hardest time moving between packs. Even in the short time I had known her, I had seen how she strained beneath authority and would not take to 'following' me easily. The solitude she had felt after both the other minds had left hers would have been the only reason she eventually joined us.

"So why can we all hear your thoughts now?" Emery asked, her voice laced with bitterness.

"That is because you are now in my pack. When the male wolves from the res turn they will no longer be inside your head, which means you won't have to try so hard to keep anything secret down the bond. We are all girls here so don't hesitate to ask me anything that you want to know about the transformation... think of me as your wolfy guidance councillor." I finished that with a chuckle from my chest.

Krissa laughed as she sent the mental image her mind had conjured at what I had said. In it I was in my wolf form, obscuring 'feel good' posters behind me, as I sat on my haunches behind a desk with a small plaque reading 'Wolfy Guidance Councillor' on it.

The image got the other 2 laughing as well. After we finally stopped, Krissa asked, "So are you an Alpha then? This is a different pack but I don't hear anyone else in here."

As I started a steady lope, I explained the situation to the girls.

"No, I am not an Alpha. The pack you are in now belongs to your uncle, Krissa, Jacob Black." I felt her surprise at his statement; her memories of him were few and far between. He hadn't been to La Push since she was an infant. I decided to recall the moment he had broken free of Sam's pack. The girls watched as the russet brown wolf grew, till he stood taller than the pure black wolf they all knew so well.

"So if he was the rightful Alpha, why is Emery's dad still one?" Sophie asked.

"That is rather difficult to explain. Sam's authority is assumed... while it did not _really_ belong to him, since Jake didn't claim it when he joined the pack, even after he became an Alpha the pack's loyalty did not belong to him. He could have fought Sam for leadership but that isn't why Jacob left. He just refused to kill the ones he loved under Sam's orders."

Emery whined at the implications this levelled at her father. "Was he really going to force Jacob to kill the woman he loved in cold blood?"

I thought through my answer before replying. "Yes and no. Yes he was ordering Jacob to play a part in the killing but no Jake was not going to have to kill her himself. He also had a good reason for it. He felt that the hybrid baby, that Bella was carrying, would be a serious threat to the tribe. On a side note, she was, just not for the reason he thought she was... but the Volturi is a story for another day."

After a few howls of protest, which I silenced with a sharp bark, I upped my pace and said,

"Okay then girls. Time for the training to begin!"

* * *

A/N - I'm so sorry for how I am pacing this but it just feels more organic this way.

Now to my thank you portion.

To unknown guest - Jacob's son is going to be the main love interest but I have a very dramatic entrance planned for him and it won't be for several chapters... sorry.

To Liliana - Your hope seems to be mirrored by everyone. I know I'm delaying his entrance but I REALLY want to bring him in well (since he is going to be a staple for the rest of the book) and not just right alongside my other 3 OCs

To Bilba - I'm glad you did. I spent quite a while envisioning how the 3 would be... just to make sure that they wouldn't be carbon copies of each other. As I said to the others BILLY IS COMING just please don't force me into making his entrance earlier than I want. I was planning on having it even further ahead... but I figured I could put those chapters after the crisis that will introduce Billy so please be happy with that. :'(

To Brankel - Thank you for not mentioning Jake's son :') you have no idea how happy I was to get your review where he wasn't an issue.

Thanks again to my favers and followers and hopefully I'll be seeing you again soon.

Circa out


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As we ran through the woods, I decided to study the girls who ran with me.

Telling Emery (who was in the position directly behind me) to continue running straight on, I slowed my pace so I could watch each wolf's movements.

My being the fastest of the previous pack was not just due to my wolf genes. Though I would grudgingly admit that they helped, the truth was that I had worked running too. I had studied videos of wolves running in the wild, watched their conservation of movement, and tried to mimic that in my own running.

"Krissa... after your back legs release the ground, try to pull them to a higher ready position." As she ran she was losing much of the power of her rear legs.

"Emery –" I got the lead wolf's attention. Like the other power-type wolves she was making the mistake of pulling herself with her front legs. That technique was wholly unsuited for this type of running. At a lope, like we were doing, all the force should come from the rear legs. This would save energy for the front legs when a sudden burst of speed was necessary. "– only use your rear legs. This is not a speed challenge." I said, knowing she had heard my earlier assessment.

I had felt Sophie strongly in my mind, ever since I had started giving suggestions to the other 2. As she had only phased for the first time yesterday, she should be very clumsy in her wolf form... this was not the case, and I felt smugness coming from the wolf. She had listened to my earlier suggestions, as well as all the accompanying thoughts, and tried to implement them on her own lope.

I ran back to the front of the pack, and decided to increase the pace of the lope. I felt satisfaction at Sophie's sudden embarrassment as she stumbled at the sudden change. That would teach her for being a smart ass.

I slowed as we reached a clearing that ran along the creek. As I reached a walk I quickly phased back, after telling the others to do the same. None of us had any clothes with us, but nudity was a natural part of pack life; you had no choice but to get used to it.

As they phased back, I noticed for the first time that all 3 were breathing heavily.

"There is no way you can be tired after that!" I exclaimed. Krissa, being the youngest, was the most ready to voice her thoughts.

"We've been running for, like, 2 hours. It got a bit easier after you give us those pointers... but then you went and made us run even faster!" She said petulantly.

I gave a short laugh. "It was closer to 90 minutes, and at that pace you really shouldn't be tired. Even when I upped the pace we were only about 90 miles per hour." Their eyes widened at the revelation of the speed. "You should be able to run like that for, at _least_, half a day... minimum. By the time I'm done with you, you will be running at around twice for several hours!" They groaned, incredulous at my claim... they would learn, I thought with a smile.

"Okay," I said to the girls. "I want you to rest up here. Stay in human form, I don't want you in my mind because I'm off to prepare the next stage of your training."

As I jogged out of the clearing, I embraced the fire in my core and was soon back on 4 legs.

* * *

I padded quietly back into the clearing and, when none of them noticed my presence, decided to have a little fun. Crawling on my belly, I slunk as close to the distracted teens as I could before releasing my most blood curdling howl.

It was deeply gratifying when I saw every one of them suddenly jump to their feet, all listlessness gone, until they slowly realised that there was no threat. They rounded on me, all now as their spirit wolves, as my amusement rolled off me and to them through the pack bond.

"Leah. Did you _really_ have to do that to us? You gave us all heart attacks!" Sophie whined.

"Not at all." I replied with a wolf's grin. "But it was entirely worth it and it got you all into wolf form, which _was_ necessary."

"So what are we doing now?" Emery asked for the group. "You were gone for a long time."

"Yes, I was off creating a circuit for you to follow. Your job now is to track where I went so that you can learn the course. Work as a pack, this is not a race. I will be monitoring you through the bond so as not to confuse my own trail." As I said that I sat on my haunches a watched as they left.

Jeez, Krissa had good senses.

In several places I had left false trails that would lead them astray, taking circuitous routes to a point only a few yards ahead of where I started. I would then back track to that point and continue. My plan was to confuse them with multiple trails so as to confuse them... but Krissa was able to distinguish between trails that were only minutes apart, and would always take the newer, shorter route.

Emery also showed to be a good leader. At 2 points, the trail cut across the river. After noticing that my scent didn't continue on the opposite shore, she sent the other 2 in opposite direction (Krissa upstream, and Sophie down) till one found the trail again.

In 30 minutes, half the time I had expected, the 3 returned triumphant. They had obviously picked up on my wordless appraisal and knew I was more than happy with their results.

"Okay then. Can all of you remember the route?" I asked, when they all nodded I continued. "Well this time you are going to compete against each other."

I could feel the excitement building in them.

"Racing one another is the best way to improve your sprint skills, just run how you feel is best. First up, Emery vs. Krissa. I'm only letting you run in pairs so that I can ref the matches. If you try and take a shortcut, rather than follow the course I set, you will be disqualified." I shot a look at Krissa, who looked offended, but we had all heard her half formed plans to cut out small sections of the course to make up for her smaller size.

Krissa lost her first match; Emery's speed on the straights was too much for her. She would most likely catch up soon, but as it stood she just wasn't fast enough on the turns to make up the gap. She won, however, against Sophie. I had expected that result initially; but it seemed like she had thrown the match. When she went against Emery I could see why she had.

Sophie had realised, that against Emery, she was definitely going to lose ground on the straights. She hadn't been deterred however, so she'd used her 'race' against Krissa to plot points on the key turns where she could use the geography to help her. And by the name of Taha Aki, she used them well. Well placed boulders, trees and slopes all became spring boards for the newest wolf in her pursuit of her rival. She was downright graceful, as she tore through the forest.

I let them cycle through the pairings with my input, and just watched as their forms improved... until Emery, predictably, got full of herself.

She had just beaten both of the other wolves and decided that I needed to prove myself to her.

"I will only let you train us again if you can beat me in a race." I could feel the implied sneer she was sending down the bond and, with a deep sigh, took her challenge. Was I as bad as her back when I was in Sam's pack? Of course I was. My being so full of myself is what got Jake hurt, back in the new-born attack 18 years ago. I'd really needed someone to put me in my place. They might not have been able to put me in mine, but I could sure as hell but Emery in hers.

The others laid down and gave us a countdown. As they called go I set off at a walk.

"What are you doing?" Emery growled at me through the link. "I wasn't kidding about never listening to you again if you didn't beat me."

"I know," I answered back, "but where is the fun in beating you from the start. I much prefer my opponent's realisation of the futility of trying to match my speed, as they feel the distance between us quickly decrease; and the total loss of hope they feel as I breeze past them." After I finished, I felt her anger level increase along with her speed. With a jubilant howl, I plunged into the forest and unleashed my true speed.

I hadn't run properly like this in about a decade. My claws chewed up the ground in my wake, as I searched for any error that may have crept into my sprint in the intervening years. With how the forest blurred past me, I figured that on the tightest turns I was still averaging about 180; on the straights like now... I was close to 300.

I could feel the awe in the younger wolves at the speeds I was doing between the trees but my focus never shifted from my prey. Yes, when I raced, my opponent was just prey. I felt her panic when she saw, through my eyes, the flash of her dark tail as she made a turn slightly ahead of me.

My earlier theatrics had given her a 3 minute head start, and now I was ready to pass her.

When suddenly I stopped.

The wind had turned.

It was now blowing from the west, from the coast.

On the wind I smelt something I hadn't since Jake's wedding.

An involuntary growl ripped from my throat, as I caught the scent of the true enemy of the Quileute tribe.

The wind carried with the burning stench of a cold one.

The stench of a vampire.

* * *

**A/N - By popular demand I am bringing forward the introduction of Billy Black (Jr.). I was going to do some character development of my _other_ 3 OCs but you wanted him so here he comes (btw he isn't the vampire that Leah just smelt but he _should_ be in by the end of that chapter). I will include those development chapters in due course.**

**To Inosolan - As always thank you for your in depth reviews**

**To Liliana - Glad to see you look out for it but wouldn't it just be easier to make an account? That way you could get email alerts for when I update this... just a suggestion :P**

**To Wolves Lover - Your ability to see into the past amazes me... but you never did vote... :P**

**To Brankel1 - Did you just copy and paste your previous review? :P I'm happy you still feel the same way though.**

**and finally**

**To CatTheWall - My excitable new reviewer. It worries me that your last review was for Ch 3... but I hold out hope that I haven't lost you just because this isn't JakexLeah (theoretically it still will be a Blackwater... just with the wrong Black).**

**Thank you again to my followers and favoriters and I hope I haven't disappointed any of you for your faith in me.**

**As always please review, it helps the process.**

**Circa out.**


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